Endings and Beginnings

I love this time of year. When one year comes to an end and another begins. It’s like getting a clean slate. My energy level increases. My “to-do” list gets longer (and I get excited about it!). I always wish that I could bottle this feeling of excitement, hope and motivation and partake of it whenever I’m feeling uninspired.

This is always my time to make lists. Resolutions. Goals. And I take time to reflect on the lists of last year.

My two main goals for 2012 were to become a runner and run a 5K. I’m happy to say that I did both! I really fell in love with running and I love being able to compete with myself and see improvements every day. And the new friends I’ve made through running have been invaluable!

Another goal I had was to release another pattern. I didn’t do that! I have a few things that I’m working on but never got any of them out there. I guess 2013 will be their year!

My goals for 2013:

• Run 1,000 miles. This one may be tricky since I’m averaging about 3 miles per week right now due to the lingering effects of bronchitis. But hopefully I can quickly make up for lost miles.
• Get completely organized. This is a lofty goal! Some aspects of my life are organized and some are not! It’s only made more difficult by the fact that we are still finishing renovations on our house. Hopefully we will finish those soon and everything will have a place once again.
• Have more time for crafty things. I feel like my craft time was sorely lacking in 2012 and I want that to change. I need that to change!
• Learn something new. I think I’ve already taken about a million Craftsy courses but I’m already scoping out more. Perhaps the Artisan Cheese Making Class or the Jam and Marmalade Class? I want to learn it all! (by the way, if you haven’t signed up for Craftsy, you should! The classes are really amazing and you can take them on your own schedule and your access to them never expires! And you have access to the instructor to ask questions along the way. Want to learn to knit? Maybe learn to crochet? They have everything from quilting to cake decorating to jewelry making and more! Can you tell I love them?)
• Eat healthier. More fruits and vegetables! I’m going to do my best to have a successful garden this summer. I don’t think of myself as having much of a green thumb but I’m hoping that will change. I’m currently taking the Garden Fresh Class and I’m learning a lot. (The instructor’s garden is AMAZING. Very inspiring!)
• Release another pattern. Or two… Or three… I seriously need to get my butt in gear on this one. Perhaps my goal of more craft time will result in more patterns. I sure do hope so!
• Give more handmade gifts at Christmas. I always want to make people gifts for Christmas but my problem is that I think about it in November when there is NO TIME to get it all done. So someone please remind me of this in July so that I can actually make it happen!
• Spiffy up this blog. I’ve been wanting to transfer this thing to a self-hosted WordPress blog so that I can have more “creative control” of the look and feel of things. And I’m hoping that this will be the year I take the plunge and do it. Has anyone out there done this before? Gone from WordPress.com to WordPress.org? Recommendations on hosting? I’ll take any and all advice!

I hope I’m able to meet every one of those goals this year! What are your goals for 2013? I’d love to hear them! I hope that 2013 is your best year yet!